Our Correspondents News and views from CrossStitcher readers around the world

Ever wondered what stitchers like us are up to in different parts of the globe? We’ve asked readers from near and far to become correspondents for us and share with us their cross stitch news…

Kristen Gawronski, Canberra, Australia

I don’t remember when I first got into cross stitch or what the finished piece looked like, but I do have my first completed piece from when I seriously got back into cross stitch.

From a distance, the dark brown bear seems fine. He’s well centred on the fabric. The half stitches are all pointing in the one direction and the backstitch provides definition to key areas of the piece. A closer look at the piece shows a more troubled picture with many novice mistakes. My crosses are uneven and stitched haphazardly. If memory serves me well, I’d stitched the lines alternating in direction because I thought it was easier and saving time. Then there’s the problem with the backstitch. Because I was in a rush to get the piece completed (I was super keen to start the next one), I didn’t take as much time and care to do a good job. Plus, what you can’t tell is that when I finished the dark bear, there was a significant amount of fabric below him. The big novice mistake I made was not finding the centre of fabric and working my way out!

The next bear I worked on was an improvement. The crosses are still haphazard, but I improved on the backstitch and I found the centre of the fabric! What you may also notice with this second bear is how dirty the fabric is. What I’ve learned over time is that it’s a sin for a stitcher to stitch with dirty hands and to leave their fabric dirty when it’s finished. Why? Aesthetically, it looks grubby, messy, unprofessional. Technically, the grub, grime and muck can attract bugs and mites that can feed off it and eventually ruin the picture. Additionally, there’s the risk of the piece growing mould or remaining stained for the rest of its life because I’ve not washed it soon enough and ensured it’s dried and stored properly.

Many years later, I’m now working on making a quilt out of many crossstitch pictures I’ve worked on over the years and learning the art of patience, measuring many times before cutting and sewing straight! There’s still a couple of pieces I want to add to the quilt before it will be ready to be joined up. The majority of the pictures making up the quilt are from Country Threads by Fiona Judge. The other pieces are from kits or other patterns I’ve come across from a variety of magazines. My very first cross stitch design! 1 My next effort shows some improvement 2 & 3 Kristen has been cross stitching seriously for over 10 years. When not stitching she’s taking photos of the Australian country and coastal landscapes. She works full-time in the field of records management for the federal government.

Ellen Holz, Southern Germany

Summer is in full swing here in Germany. The perfect time for me to get started on my Christmas stitching! I love to stitch Christmas designs for my home and I also love to give away small ornaments, so I do need to pace myself. This year I

am planning on stitching two kits from Lie bevolleKreuzs tic hentwürfe,a German company. I saw stitched models at a needlework fair last year and knew I needed to have them on my walls. I am considering swapping out the fabric to a very sparkly one. I think it will look great with the red metallic threads in the kits.

Every year I try to do something new, something to take me out of my comfort zone. For 2018 it is the Linen and Threads’ Medieval Menagerie stitch-along. I was somewhat daunted by the size of it and by not knowing what to expect each month. Now half way in, I am just loving everything about it – the beautiful raw linen, the bright colours I have chosen so far, the amazing design and the Facebook group. It is so inspiring to see all the other stitchers’ interpretations.

I stitch all kinds of styles – primitive designs, samplers, small ornaments, beautiful ladies and animals and birds. I also love to sew, so am often combining the two skills. Using up scraps is so satisfying and I think it challenges me to be really creative. My four-year-old daughter asked me to make her an alphabet cushion to help her learn to read. How could I resist? The result is bright and colourful and made entirely from scraps – aida and leftover threads from kits and little bits of fabric from sewing projects. She loves it! And now she has it, she tells me she is ready to learn to read. My two kits from Liebevolle Kreuzs tic hentwürfe An alphabet cushion, as requested by my daughter Linen and Threads’ Medieval Menagerie stitch-along – I’m halfway through Ellen is 36, a mum of three (nearly two, three and four years old) and a secondary school teacher who comes from Sussex but lives in Germany.

Debbie Vermeulen, Durban, South Africa

Cross stitching is alive and well in South Africa. From our South Africa Stitchers Facebook group to our online stores and few brick and mortar haberdasheries, cross stitching friends are not too hard to find.

Thankfully, with the internet and social media, I now find that my love for stitching is fed by trawling through Etsy for the latest designs, downloading CrossStitcher on my Zinio app and stitching while watching other stitchers on Flosstube. I am always busy with at least a few WIPs, which usually include an Emma Congdon design and a Bothy Threads kit. I am blessed to have a colleague, Beth, who loves cross stitching as much as I do. We have even been known to cross stitch together at break and we regularly bring our projects to work to show each other.

Through my job as a teacher, I have made an excellent friend in one of my pupil’s mums, Nickie – who is a prolific stitcher. She has broadened my stitchy horizons by introducing me to handdyed threads and fabric and by encouraging me to try new things – like framing my own pieces. Our local stitchers get together at a coffee shop regularly throughout the year, usually doing a gift exchange – which is a highlight for all of us. We have even had

our first retreat at a beautiful hotel in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Stitching with my friends is one of my absolute favourite things to do! My stitching BFF, Nickie (right) and I at a get-together 7 Nickie and I did our own SAL for this Emma Congdon design 8 Fran, Estelle and Sharon during our gift exchange 9 Stitching at the first South African Stitchers Cross Stitch Retreat 10 Debbie Vermeulen is a 41-year-old teacher/librarian from Durban, South Africa. She is married, with two young daughters and a dog.

Michelle Yeoh, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

August! This is going to be another special month for me, as a new addition to our family is due this month!

Well, I would like to say that I have managed to stitch a great many pieces leading up to this special occasion but alas, it was not to be. I suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe morning sickness) from December through to March and was unable to indulge in my favourite stitchy hobby. In fact, things got to a point that I had to enlist my mum’s help to complete a couple of my commissions.

I felt so poorly that most of the first trimester was spent on the bed. Though some days were better than others and I felt like picking up the needle, I couldn’t do so while on the bed. This is because in Malaysia, we Chinese folks have a long list of superstitions, especially while being pregnant.

One of the superstitions was no scissors or needles allowed in bed. I did some reading into this taboo and it seems in Chinese culture, beds are a symbol of marriage and fertility. Hence, using sharp objects while in bed may signal cutting the umbilical cord or causing birth defects. It may seem like an old wives’ tale but better safe than sorry, right? Do you all have any pregnancy taboos as well?

Thankfully, my conditions improved, and I was able to complete stitching a teacher’s appreciation gift and get a slight start on Country Cottage Needleworks – Afternoon in Paris. I even designed a Lucky Cat! I can only hope there will be time to continue stitching once baby is out – fingers crossed! My completed teacher appreciation gift 11 An original Lucky Cat design 12 Michelle is a full-time mum and is running her cross-stitch businesses, Little Pink Factory and MiRuMakes, via Facebook and Instagram. The former produces custom stitched pieces whilst the latter is focused on Malaysianthemed designs.